The Fall of the House of Black
by myowlwearsglasses
Summary: It's 1971, and a rift is beginning in the Wizarding world - though it's nothing compared to the rift that's about to happen between the youngest members of the distinguished Black family.


A/N: This is the beginning of a story I've had in my head for a while. It's about the beginnings of the split between the youngest generation of the Black family. I know they were all trying to kill each other in the actual _Harry Potter _books, but I got the feeling they were all close once, so I wanted to explore those relationships. This is the first time I've ever posted a multi-chapter story _anywhere _so hopefully my updates will not be too sporadic.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros. Studios. No copyright infringement is intended by this story.

Rated M for violence and sexual content.

Chapter 1

**Andromeda**

_I'm half in love with a man I spotted out a window_.

The thought flowed through Andromeda's head, subtle but insistent, as she slowly unpacked her trunk. The afternoon sunlight filtered through her window and added some brightness to the dull off-white walls of her bedroom. She hung her robes in the closet, moving slowly throughout the room as the thought pulsed over and over again in her head. _Half in love. Half in love._

She had fallen asleep as the train pulled into King's Cross Station, and none of her friends had woken her, assuming the movement and bustle would do it for them. It wasn't until half the Hogwarts students were off the train that Reina nudged her shoulder. "Dromeda, we're in London."

Reina would have waited on her, but Andromeda urged her to go on and began gathering her things. As she hitched her bag over her shoulder, she happened to glance out the compartment window.

The station was packed with students and parents, trunks and owls, frantic conductors trying to keep too many wizards from bursting through the magical barrier that separated Platform 9 ¾, the platform hiding the Hogwarts Express, from the non-magical world. Owls flapped their wings and Dromeda couldn't hold back a smile as a harassed-looking cat leapt from a first year's arms and disappeared into the mist. A moment later, the student's father waved his magic wand and the cat literally flew backwards into its cage where is hissed its displeasure.

Andromeda's eyes swept the station for her own family. She spotted them near the barrier. Bellatrix seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument with their parents (_No surprise there_, Dromeda thought), while little Narcissa rocked back and forth on her heels, clutching her new beaded bag in both hands. Andromeda had just bought the bag from a somewhat shifty salesman in Hogsmeade and given it to her sister as a birthday gift. Its vibrant colors and heavy beadwork made it an unusual fashion in the wizarding world, even more unusual in the hands of the daughter of a prominent pureblood family, but Andromeda had known her sister would love the colors and the texture of the beads.

As her gaze moved away from her family, it fell on the man just outside her compartment window. He had bent down so that he was eye level with the boy he was talking to.

Andromeda knew who he was, of course. His name was Ted Tonks and he had been her classmate for all six years that she'd attended Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, though in most of those years they never spoke, being in two different houses and even more drastically different social groups. Still, her gaze lingered on him as though she'd never seen him before, taking in his long fingers, the curls in his unruly brown hair, the creases at the corner of his eyes when he smiled.

He had placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and seemed to be giving him a pep talk. The little boy was clutching a potted plant in one hand and a cage with an owl in the other. His trunk lay half-abandoned behind him. Andromeda could not imagine what Ted must have been saying to him, but as she watched, the little boy's head perked up from where it had been drooping against his chest and gazed at Ted in wide-eyed wonder.

Ted gave the younger boy a clap on the shoulder and then rocked back on his heels. The little boy beamed. He must have squeezed the plant or something because a moment later, a jet of bright purple ink shot out of the plant and squirted all over Ted's face and robes too fast for Ted to shield himself with his arms. The boy let out a squeal of horror and Andromeda burst into laughter.

She ducked beneath the window before Ted could turn to see her, still giggling into her hands. Then she stood up. Ted was saying something to the mortified first year as he smeared ink off his face, but Andromeda didn't think she'd ever forget his expression. He appeared half amused, half exasperated, and with a softness in his eyes that said he wouldn't be anywhere other than in that place, having an awkward first year accidentally squirt magic purple ink at him. He waved away the first year's apologies good-naturedly and sent the younger boy trotting back to where his parents waited anxiously. Andromeda realized the boys' parents were wearing Muggle clothes and thought she might have known what the pep talk was about after all.

Without thinking, she unlatched the train window and raised it. "Need some help, Tonks?"

Ted turned to her, eyes squinting. He seemed surprised to see her leaning out the train window with her wand ready. Andromeda suddenly felt foolish. After all, they never spoke to each other in public, except in the unusual situation that they were paired together in classes. Besides, Ted was a talented wizard and could certainly have gotten the ink off himself.

"Er…sure," he said awkwardly.

Andromeda waved her wand and instantly the ink vanished. Ted's robes were once again pressed, dry, and black. They may have even been cleaner than they had been before the first year's accident, Andromeda thought, and wondered if she'd overdone the spell again. Ted glanced down at his robes and then back up at her.

For a moment their eyes caught. Dromeda felt her neck get hot. The corners of Ted's mouth twitched.

"Have a good summer, Black," he'd said then and walked away.

Andromeda had watched his retreating form until Narcissa calling her name distracted her. Bellatrix's public temper tantrum had ended when she Disapparated in a huff. Now the rest of the family wanted Andromeda to get a move on and everyone seemed to be in a sore mood with each other and especially with her. Upon reaching the house, Dromeda had taken the first opportunity she could to escape to her room.

Only then did she dwell on what had happened at the station.

It wasn't a big deal really. Magical mishaps happened all the time at Hogwarts, and a bit of ink certainly was not the worst of them. And Ted had done nothing extraordinary.

Still, she couldn't forget the look on his face or the young Muggleborn's look of adoration as he looked at him.

_I'm half in love, _she thought. Maybe she was all the way in love.

"Dromeda!" There was a knock on her door. A moment later it opened and Bellatrix walked in, her robes swishing dramatically around her. Andromeda sighed.

"Bellatrix, what is the point of knocking if you don't wait for an answer before you barge through?"

"I've always wondered that," Bellatrix answered. "You're still unpacking? For God's sake, Dromeda, wandering around like a Muggle? You're seventeen now, use magic! Or better yet, have the elf do it."

Andromeda glanced stupidly at her wand which she'd set absentmindedly on her bedside table. "I forgot…"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes and waved her own wand. The remaining robes in Dromeda's trunk floated out and into the open closet where they slid onto hangers and fell limp. "It's a simple spell, Dromeda," Bellatrix said as though speaking to a three-year-old. "And, you know, you _could _have been practicing over the summers the last six years, but you're so _legal-minded_."

"The law's there for a reason," said Andromeda. "Besides, I didn't want to encourage the boys. You know they'd blow something up."

Bellatrix waved her hand dismissively. "Sirius does that anyway. And Regulus is too much Cissy's little pet. Anyway, can you _believe _Mother and Father? Showing up at the train station to pick us up like – like a package or something! Like we can't both Apparate on our own _and _take Cissy with us!"

"Old habits," said Andromeda. "Besides, they probably wanted to congratulate you on graduating, but then you had a temper tantrum and now everyone's in a bad mood."

"No," growled Bellatrix. "That's not what they wanted. I waited to see if they would, and then they said, 'Have you got Narcissa? Good. Where has Andromeda got to?' And they didn't say anything about me at all and I told them they could take Cissy and go and I would get you myself and we'd Apparate back here. And they said, no, they had something important to tell me, now where had you got to. So no, they were not interested in congratulating me." She straightened her robes. "Where were you, anyway?"

"Fell asleep in the compartment," Dromeda said. "What was the important thing they had to tell you?"

Bellatrix gave an elegant shrug. Andromeda's older sister did everything elegantly. She was tall and strong with a chiseled face and prominent cheekbones. Her black hair fell in a mess of curls, and her eyes were hard and gray as iron. She had the natural grace of a predatory cat, and she flopped and shrugged as beautifully as she glided and danced.

Andromeda raised a self-conscious hand to her own softer, browner hair and wished her long face complimented her as well as Bella's did hers. "It's probably a congratulatory dinner," she said. "The whole family will be there. After all, you're the oldest Black of this generation. Regulus'll be lucky if he gets a pat on the head after all of us have gone through."

Bellatrix snorted. "Regulus is the least likely to get through."

"That's not true," Andromeda said. "He'll do fine."

"Cissy needs to stop babying him so much. And Sirius needs to stop defending him from everything."

Andromeda privately thought that with a mother like Walburga Black, Regulus could use some defending. But you didn't say that sort of thing about the family matriarch, not even to your own sister. Instead she just repeated, "He'll be fine. And you'd better go see what Father and Mother want."

Bellatrix groaned and flopped down on Andromeda's bed. "I don't want to," she said. "I want to stay up here where they won't bother me. Or leave. Or-" She sat bolt upright. "Dromeda," she breathed, "do you think I could move out now? Get my own place? A flat in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley or-"

"They would never let you go," Andromeda said. "Not until you're married."

"Why not? All the men in the family do it."

"_Some _of the men in the family do it."

"Well, I could too. I'm the most independent out of all of you."

That was true, although Andromeda thought in a few years Sirius could challenge her on that.

"What are you two talking about in here?" came a new voice. Narcissa was hovering in the doorway. Unlike her older sisters, Narcissa was petite and blond, as pale as a porcelain doll and seemingly just as delicate. She was only twelve, so Andromeda kept hoping she would grow a bit sturdier, but she'd heard her parents and relatives discussing how Narcissa had the most feminine look of the sisters and therefore would be the most desirable of the three.

Andromeda patted the bed beside her. "Just talking, little sister," she said. "Come join us if you like. Bella, move over."

Grudgingly, Bellatrix shifted slightly on the bed and Narcissa hopped in between her older sisters. Andromeda toed off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the bed, spreading her robes to give her knees more room. Next to her, Narcissa hugged her knees to her chest. Bellatrix did not sit up, but rolled over to face them.

"I am eighteen years old," she said. "I do not need to be here anymore. I do not need to listen to everything they say."

Narcissa rocked a little. "But you won't leave us, will you?"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes but then seemed to soften as she took in her little sister's facial expression. "Not forever, of course. I'll still see you all. I just won't live here. You'll feel the same way one day, Cissy."

Narcissa looked a little relieved. Then her face lit up as if she'd just thought of something. "Ooh!" she said. "I think Tristan Cormier fancies me! Because Anna Talbert told Melissa Salander who told-"

Bella groaned and rolled over. "Ugh, Cissy, don't you have anything _better _to talk about?"

"Tristan Cormier's a fifth year, Cissy," said Andromeda. "And you just finished your second."

"That means he could invite me to Hogsmeade next year!" exclaimed Narcissa. "I'll be able to go then!"

"Don't you think he's a bit old for you?" pointed out Andromeda.

"Don't you think he's a bit of an idiot?" asked Bellatrix, rolling back over to face her sisters. "He's sixteen years old, a rising sixth year at Hogwarts, and he's yet to cast a proper Summoning spell."

"But he's quite good-looking," argued Narcissa. "And-"

"Narcissa, you're not going out with a sixteen-year-old," said Andromeda.

"Not even when I'm thirteen?"

"Not even when you're fourteen."

Narcissa looked at her suspiciously. "If Bellatrix gets to move out-"

"Bellatrix is not moving out, and you're not dating Tristan Cormier until you're out of Hogwarts," said Andromeda. Her remark was met with twin howls of protest.

"I am _so _moving out-"

"But he'll have _forgotten _me by then-"

"For heaven's sake, it's not the end of the world!" exclaimed Andromeda. "Narcissa, you have to focus on boys your own age."

"Like _who_?"

"Adam MacMillan's in your year-"

"He has pimples," sniffed Narcissa.

"And he's a Hufflepuff," sneered Bellatrix, sitting up. "Honestly, Dromeda, what is wrong with you?"

"I think he's nice," Andromeda defended hotly. "And he's from a good family!" _Which is more than can be said for Ted…._

"He's from an _all right _family," Bellatrix corrected. "There have to be some better Slytherin boys Narcissa's own age though. Or better yet, Cissy could focus on magic and get good at spellwork-"

"My spellwork's good!" protested Narcissa.

"You can't even cast a Silencing spell."

"We don't start those until next year!"

"Well, why aren't you ahead? By the time I left second year, I could Silence an entire room…"

"Rubbish!" exclaimed Andromeda. "You could barely silence your own kitten!"

"Oi, that's not so! I could Silence-" Andromeda hit her with a pillow. Bellatrix's mouth dropped open and stayed that way. Narcissa giggled. Then she shrieked as Bellatrix dived across the bed and knocked Andromeda down onto the mattress where she began to tickle her. Andromeda found herself pressed against the coverlet and breathless with laughter as she tried to push her older sister off her. Narcissa had gotten to her feet and was pelting them both with pillows, goading them on. When all the pillows were on the floor and her sisters were still grappling, Cissy began to jump on the bed, making the two older girls grunt and giggle even harder. This was how Mitzy the house-elf found them five minutes later.

"The master and mistress wish to see the young mistresses," she said, the squeak of her voice a stark contrast to the dignified posture of her hands behind her back.

"Oi, you tell them – " Bellatrix was giggling too hard to get words out. "Tell them that – these brats – that they've raised-"

"Did you hear her?" squealed Narcissa who was still jumping. "She called us brats! And I think _you _raised us, Bella-"

"The master and mistress insist that the young mistresses come downstairs at once," said Mitzy. "They have news for them."

"Can't, Mitzy," Bellatrix grunted. "I have to teach these two a _lesson _first!" She punctuated this sentence with a particularly sharp jab in Andromeda's ribs.

"Ow! Bella, that hurt-"

"Serves you right-"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

At their father's shout, Narcissa started so badly she fell off the bed. Bellatrix immediately stopped tickling Andromeda who took the opportunity to roll out from under her older sister and sit up so that she was facing their father. She was sweaty and she knew her hair must have been mussed.

Cygnus Black was a large man, and his strong frame seemed too big for the doorway in which he stood. His hands were behind his back, but his face was a picture of ferocity. His jaw was clenched and a vein throbbed in his left temple. Andromeda pushed herself onto her knees and attempted to straighten her robes. Bellatrix did not move, merely crouched, panting, over the spot where Andromeda had lain seconds before. Narcissa wisely stayed on the floor and out of sight.

"Blacks do not wrestle on the floor like a pair of filthy Mudbloods," their father said.

"We weren't on the floor," said Bellatrix.

"Silence!" Bellatrix kept quiet, but she fixed their father with a look of pure venom. "I sent Mitzy up here to tell you to come downstairs. We are going to your aunt's house tonight. We have very important business to talk over with her. A fine thing it would be if we arrived late because our daughters were behaving like common tramps. Bellatrix, you are eighteen years old. It is high time you started acting like a lady. Narcissa! Stand up!" Narcissa did so, appearing from behind the bed with a sheepish look on her round, pale face. "The same goes for you. Just because your sister acts your age doesn't mean you have to. And Andromeda, I am surprised at you. Of all the Blacks, you are the last I would have expected to embarrass the family this way."

Andromeda stared at the now rumpled coverlet, her hands behind her back, face burning in shame. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the muscles in Bellatrix's hand tense, as though her sister wanted nothing more than to throw a punch.

"Now," said their father in a dangerously quiet voice. "We are going to Grimmauld Place in half an hour. I expect absolute propriety from each of you. Especially you, Bellatrix. We have important matters to discuss. And if any of you so much as slouches at dinner, you will be very sorry indeed."

With a swish of his cloak, he was gone from the room. Mitzy, who had shrunk into the background as though hoping she could blend into the wall, followed him out of sight. There was a moment of horrible silence before Narcissa scuttled out of the room. Andromeda slid slowly off the bed.

"He didn't seem in that bad a mood to me," she said.

Bellatrix lifted herself up slowly and raised her head. For a moment she stared defiantly at the doorway, her fingers twitching as though she were fighting the urge to go for her wand and curse the doorway where their father had stood. Then she stepped off the bed and marched out of the room.

_And if any of you so much as slouches at dinner, you will be very sorry indeed. _Her father's words echoed in her ears and seemed to reverberate through her like the vibrations of a gong. She straightened her robes and ran a hand through her hair, picking out the tangles to have something to do with her fingers. She realized her hands were shaking. She quickly stuffed them in her pockets and turned to her wardrobe, trying to decide which set of robes to wear tonight. The thought of embarrassing the family suddenly made her ill.

She thought of Ted's facial expression as he had wiped ink of his face, but rather than calm her down, it set her heart racing and her palms sweating.

_What would they do if they knew you were in love with a Mudblood?_

**Sirius**

_This is it. _

Well, it wasn't it _really_. After all, he hadn't got the letter. Technically, he wasn't admitted yet. But it was only a matter of time. Now that the year was out at Hogwarts, summer had officially started, and this would be _the _summer. The summer he was eleven. The summer he got the letter. The summer he would be officially accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"It's going to be _brilliant_," Sirius breathed.

He sat cross-legged on the bed in his room at Grimmauld Place, facing his little brother Regulus, who was tracing shapes with his finger in the coverlet. He had imitated Sirius's posture for the half hour they had been sitting there, until the older boy had announced his triumphal entry into the world of magic, at which point Regulus had slouched, lowered his face, and refused to meet his big brother's eyes.

"When can _I _come?" he asked.

"When you're eleven, you prat," Sirius said. "That's when everyone goes. Duh."

"But that's two years from now," Regulus said. "I want to go with you."

"Well, you can't," said Sirius. He scratched his head and brushed his dark hair out of his eyes. "Not yet. But don't worry. I had to wait, and I made it."

"Yes, but you're the last one," said Regulus. "No one'll be here except me. What am I going to do without you?"

"Mother and Father are here," said Sirius, but he frowned. Regulus made a face. "Or Kreacher. Or… I know! You could ask Bellatrix if you could go with her!"

Regulus picked at a broken thread on Sirius's blanket. "I don't want to go with her."

"Why not? She's going to be doing loads of int'resting stuff now she's left Hogwarts. She can do magic outside school now and everything!"

"What's she doing?" asked Regulus.

"Important things," said Sirius.

"Like what?"

"Like things that are…important. Listen, just trust me. She _told _me. And maybe she'll take you with her. I mean, none of us have ever been alone before, and we're not going to start now."

"But I'd rather go with you and Cissy and Dromeda," said Regulus earnestly. "Bellatrix doesn't like me."

"Don't be daft, of course she likes you. She has to like you. We're family."

"Can't you ask Mother and Father to let me go too?" asked Regulus. "They do everything you want."

"It's not up to them," said Sirius as patiently as he could. "It's up to Professor Dumbledore. And I'm sure he'll let you in later. I mean, you're magic and all. Remember, you made that plate of mushrooms Kreacher made the other day explode. You'll _definitely _get in."

His brother didn't look entirely convinced. Sirius leaned toward him. "I promise I'll write every week – at least! I'll tell you all about – the Slytherin Common Room, the dungeons, the Great Hall, the grounds-"

"Quidditch?" interrupted Regulus, eyes wide.

"Yep!"

To Sirius's dismay, Regulus's shoulders slumped again. "I won't get to play Quidditch for three years," the younger brother said sadly.

Sirius tried to think of something that would make up for this depressingly accurate statement. A moment later, a tap on the door saved him from responding.

"Who _is_ it?" demanded Sirius.

"Please, Master Sirius," came the croaking voice of their house-elf, Kreacher. "Mistress requests that Master Sirius and Master Regulus come downstairs to greet Master Cygnus and Mistress Druella."

"We'll be right down," piped up Regulus. He seemed to be in better spirits at the thought of visitors. Sirius got to his feet, nudging his little brother on the arm.

"Come on, I want to talk to Bella about Hogwarts."

Regulus also stood up. "And I want to talk to her about the important things she's doing," he said, puffing out his small chest. "Since I get to do them too."

Downstairs, Kreacher led the boys into the sitting room where he barely had time to announce them before Regulus had launched himself at Andromeda and thrown his arms around her. Sirius took the opportunity to squeeze in between Bella and Uncle Cygnus on the sofa while his mother was busy telling Regulus off for "excitable behavior."

He leaned close to Bellatrix and whispered, "Are you really done with Hogwarts?"

Something like a smirk crossed his cousin's face. "I am."

"So what will you do now?"

"Move out and work for the Ministry of Magic."

"What was that, Bellatrix?" Sirius's mother, done chastising Regulus, now turned her attention to her eldest niece.

Bellatrix sat up a little straighter. "I was telling Sirius that I've completed my Hogwarts education, Aunt Walburga" she said.

"But what was that you said about the Ministry?"

Bellatrix paused for a moment, and Sirius thought at first she wouldn't answer. Then she spoke. "I am putting forth an application at the Ministry of Magic. I want to work there."

_That _was the important thing she was going to do? Sirius slumped back against the sofa as the grown-ups in the room all exchanged looks.

"Bellatrix." Uncle Cygnus's voice sounded low and dangerous, but Sirius's mother interrupted.

"It is not a suitable position for a daughter of the Black family," she said.

"What is, sitting for portraits?" muttered Bellatrix.

"What Bella means is," Andromeda cut in quickly, "that she's been busy learning advanced magic at Hogwarts for the last seven years. At Hogwarts, you know, something is always happening. We're always surrounded by people and always have things to do. She can't just come back here and not _do _anything. That's why she wants a job."

"Ah, of course," said Sirius's mother. "No need to worry, my dear, you will have plenty to do."

"It's not just something to do," said Bellatrix, leaning forward. "I want to do something that _matters_. If I worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or -"

"There are other things for you to do, Bellatrix," said Sirius's mother. "But this is neither the time nor the place to discuss them. Sirius, stop slouching."

Scowling, Sirius sat up and crossed his arms. Thankfully, his mother had turned her attention elsewhere.

"Andromeda, how have your studies gone?"

Andromeda answered dutifully, and Sirius let his mind wander. Other conversations started, and Sirius thought it safe to talk to Bella without any grown-ups butting in. "Are you going to come see me at Hogwarts when I'm there?"

"Maybe. If I have time."

"Are you going to miss it?" asked Sirius, beginning to bounce up and down on his seat.

"Miss Hogwarts?"

"Yeah! Are you going to miss it?"

"I suppose. Certainly I'll miss it if I have to stay home all day. Still won't be as good as the Ministry job though."

"But the Ministry's _boring_."

"No, it's not. The Ministry is where the most important things in the country, maybe even the world, are happening."

"But it's not _Hogwarts_," said Sirius, convinced he was right. "Did you tell the professors about me?"

"No."

"_What?_ But - "

Before Sirius could voice his complaint, his mother announced it was time for dinner.

**Bellatrix**

Dinner was torturous. Bella ended up between her father and Aunt Walburga. She had to endure small talk with her aunt under her father's watchful eye. There was no talking back, no slouching, and no taking seconds of anything. And yet, Bella just knew they were both finding plenty wrong with her behavior. She couldn't help but shoot jealous looks at Andromeda, well down the table with Narcissa and the boys. Andromeda also kept meeting Bella's looks anxiously. But there was no shouting down the table to each other.

"**Mother**!" Of course, the same thought had not occurred to Sirius. "When is Uncle Alphard coming?"

"Sirius, do _not _raise your voice at the table," said Aunt Walburga.

"Sorry," said Sirius, and then in a harsh whisper that managed to be loudest noise in the room, "_When is Uncle Alphard coming_?"

Bellatrix tried not to smile as Aunt Walburga sighed. "He will be back in England in August, Sirius, now _please - _"

"_Can he take me to buy my wand_?" hissed Sirius, still in the same carrying whisper.

"_And me too_?" rasped Regulus in the same tone of voice as his brother. Cissy giggled, and Andromeda coughed politely into her napkin so their elders wouldn't see her laughing.

"Boys, that is quite enough," said Uncle Orion. Regulus immediately closed his mouth and sat back meekly. Sirius scowled and flopped back against his chair. Bellatrix used the rare moment of silence to finish her steak.

"Don't eat so quickly, Bellatrix," aid Aunt Walburga. "You are a lady, and dinner is not a race."

Scowling, Bellatrix dropped her fork with a clang. "Terribly sorry." She snatched the fork back up. "It will be lovely to see Uncle Alphard again," she said, trying to steer the conversation away from herself. "He's still in Israel, isn't he?"

"Yes," said Walburga, her mouth puckering in distaste, "though what he sees in that dreadful desert I can't begin to know."

"Ancient magical civilizations," Bellatrix said. "It's one of the oldest parts of the world. I've always wanted to go to Syria - "

"Perhaps one day, my dear," her aunt said disinterestedly. Bellatrix slumped.

"Bellatrix, don't - "

Bellatrix resisted the urge to scream as she sat up. "Pardon me," she said. "It's been a long day."

After dinner was over, the boys dragged Narcissa and Andromeda upstairs to see their new model pixie skeleton. Bellatrix tried to follow, but Aunt Walburga interrupted. "Stay here, Bella. Your parents and I need to talk to you about something."

Bellatrix stopped on the bottom step, grinding her teeth.

"Can I stay too?" asked Narcissa. "I don't want to see the bones of some poor pixie-"

"This is a private matter, Narcissa," said Walburga. "Go with the boys. We'll talk to you later."

Regulus took Cissy's arm and tugged on it. "C'mon, Cissy, come and see!"

"We'll show you later, Bella!" shouted Sirius as he bounded up the stairs. Andromeda lingered, but Cygnus shooed her away.

Bellatrix walked as slowly as absolutely possible back to the dining room where she took her seat next to Walburga.

"Perhaps we should go into the sitting room, Bellatrix, dear," said Walburga. "We'll all be more comfortable."

Bellatrix dutifully followed her elders into the sitting room where Walburga gestured that she take a seat across from the large settle. Walburga took the seat in the center of the settle with Bella's parents on either side of her. Even with Uncle Orion in another chair out of the way, Bellatrix felt as though she were facing a tribunal with no lawyer and no witness for her defense. She tried not to slump.

"Bellatrix," Walburga began, "we have decided, now that you have finished school, that it is high time you begin looking for a husband."

Bella's mouth fell open. "_What?_"

"Bellatrix!" Her father's voice was harsh, but Walburga held up a hand to silence him.

"Bellatrix. I know you think me rigid and old-fashioned, and you're not wrong." Her aunt's voice was frank, which surprised Bellatrix. "But I was young once. I know how it feels to want to be free of familial obligations. And while there are some matters on which I will _never _revise my opinions, there are others on which I am willing to … compromise."

The tension in Bella's shoulders did not leave, but she couldn't help the stirrings of interest she felt at these words. Where was this going?

"I realize that it is the fashion these days for young people to choose their own spouses."

Bellatrix resisted the urge to point out that "dating" had been "the fashion" since time _in memoria _for families less smothering than her own. However, she held her tongue. If this was going where she thought it was, then she didn't want to give her aunt any reason to lose her temper.

"So your parents and I have decided to let you choose your own husband – provided that he is from a suitable family."

Bellatrix let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

"However, you must give this matter your full attention," said her aunt. "I realize that you never showed much interest in men while you were at school, and this is fine. More than fine, in fact, as your search now will allow the family more say in your selection than when you had limited supervision at that school. But now I want you to focus on nothing else. If you have not found someone suitable by Christmas, I may feel the need to narrow your options for you."

"What?" burst out Bellatrix, her relief forgotten. "By Christmas! But Aunt Walburga, that's hardly enough time to-"

"BELLATRIX!" Her father shot to his feet so quickly he reminded Bella of a jack-in-the-box. "How _dare _you-?"

"Cygnus, _sit down!_" said Walburga through clenched teeth. But Bella's father did not sit, merely rocked back on his heels, his face turning redder and redder. His resemblance to a jack-in-the-box only became stronger, and Bella would have laughed if she had not been so horrified at the thought of her impending unwanted engagement.

Walburga sighed. "Orion, take Cygnus and Druella to your office and give them some of that elf-made wine the Malfoys were so kind as to send over last week." Cygnus opened his mouth to argue, but Orion already had him by one shoulder and was steering him out of the room. Druella followed timidly behind them.

Alone in the sitting room with her aunt, Bellatrix felt more trepidation now than at any point when her father had been screaming at her. Despite his tempers, he was all blustery bark and no bite. Bella never had understood why her sisters were so terrified of him. Aunt Walburga, on the other hand, was a different story. Her aunt's cold eyes and rigid demeanor made her far more powerful an adversary. Bellatrix wiped sweating palms on her robes and swallowed.

"Would you like some tea, dear?" asked Walburga.

Bellatrix blinked. "Beg pardon?"

"Tea. Would you like some tea?" Walburga's eyebrows rose slightly. Bellatrix shook herself.

"Tea would be – lovely, I suppose."

"Kreacher," Walburga called, and her little elf appeared at her side a moment later. "A pot of tea, please, and two cups."

Kreacher bowed and disappeared with a crack. The two women sat in a tense silence until Kreacher reappeared a few minutes later with a tea tray bearing a pot, two cups, cream, and sugar. Walburga thanked the elf and dismissed him with a wave of her fingers.

"Do you take sugar, dear?"

"No thank you." Bellatrix barely took tea if she were perfectly honest, but now didn't seem the time to bring it up.

Walburga passed her a cup on a saucer, and Bellatrix took it and blew on it gently. She did not take a sip. She still wasn't sure this wasn't some trick.

"I know you will have trouble believing this, but at your age, I was very much like you," said Walburga.

Bellatrix _did _have trouble believing it, so she said nothing.

"I was not interested in marriage or becoming head of the family, managing my two idiot brothers – your father _is _an idiot, my dear, though of course you already know this. And my cousin Orion, though intelligent and level-headed, is hardly the sort to take on the role of head of the family. I knew I would have to marry him and help him lead. I was lucky. After I left Hogwarts, I had four years before _he _was out of school. We didn't officially become engaged until he turned eighteen, and the engagement lasted two years, so I was quite a bit older than you are now when I was finally married.

"But married I was, to a man the family picked out for me, my cousin. And when the time came, I went through with it. Because what I wanted didn't matter. Do you know what matters?"

_Family_, thought Bellatrix and then winced because it was such an Andromeda thing to say.

"Blood," said Walburga. Bellatrix spent a second realizing she wasn't surprised. "Blood is power. Blood is what keeps us going, keeps us alive, keeps those beneath us in their place." Her aunt leaned forward. "Bellatrix, you said you wanted to do something important. There is nothing more important than blood. And it is your duty to uphold the family line."

Bellatrix thought carefully about what she was going to say. "Aunt Walburga," she said finally. "I understand, and I agree! Blood _is _the most important thing, it is _power_, and believe me, I would never _ever _stoop so low as to marry a … a _Mudblood _…" The thought made her shudder. "But it's not me you're looking for. It's Andromeda. _She's _the one who would make a dutiful wife, _she's _the one who will raise the next generation of Blacks – you've seen her with the children! She'll be the one to lead the family, not me." She shook her head. "I'm better put to use like a man would be, somewhere public! I like action, I like doing something! Andromeda's the one you want, not me."

"Andromeda has strong maternal instincts, that is true," said Walburga dismissively. "But that is all they are. She is too soft. I've no doubt her children will be loved and spoiled, all of that, but Bellatrix, your sister is not a leader – you are."

Bellatrix stared at her.

"Always charismatic," continued her aunt, "always thinking, always knowing what to say. Persuasive, clever, passionate – one day, your sisters and your cousins and their children will all look to you, Bellatrix, and it is for you to lead them.

"That is why you must do your duty to the family. And it must be done quickly, Bellatrix. There is unrest in our world. Dumbledore and those fools in the Auror office – Moody, Crouch, the Potters – are up to their old tricks again. The loyal pureblood families must stand united if we don't want our blood and our government contaminated." Her aunt met her eyes squarely. "This is how you will make those marks you want so badly to leave, Bellatrix. You will do your duty."

**Andromeda**

"She said _what_?" gasped Andromeda.

She and Bellatrix lay on their stomachs on Bella's bed, their parents and sister already in their own rooms for the night. Bellatrix had just recounted her private conversation with Aunt Walburga.

"I know," said Bella. In the dim light, Andromeda thought her sister looked even more beautiful than usual – like a Romantic painting of a woman cast in shadows. "She wants me to find a husband by Christmas – so that I can lead the family! Who does she think I am, our mother?"

"She thinks you're _her_," marveled Andromeda. "That's amazing, Bella, really. She must think so highly of you."

"You're missing the point, Dromeda," said Bellatrix. "She. Wants. Me. To get. Married!"

Dromeda smirked. "You're not quite cuddly enough to fall in love by Christmas."

"Fall in lo—The hell is the matter with you, Andromeda, does this seem like a trashy, _Witch Weekly_-reviewed romance novel to you?"

"No," said Andromeda, "it sounds like a task you're not happy about." Bellatrix snorted. "But it also sounds like Aunt Walburga has more respect for you than our parents do."

"I don't want her respect, I want my freedom." Bellatrix pouted as she sat up.

"It sounds as though she's giving it to you," said Andromeda. "If you're head of the family-"

"I'll be some busybodying tea-drinker arranging relatives' marriages and spouting conservative politics over dinner, and only house-elves will actually listen to me." Bellatrix crossed her arms.

Andromeda propped herself up on her elbow, her chin resting in her hand. "It could be worse," she said.

"_How_?"

"She could have told you you'd have to marry Sirius."

Bellatrix looked like she might throw up. "Well, Dromeda, you did manage to find the _one _way this situation could be worse."

"It's sick," agreed Andromeda, "though you know he loves you."

"Dear God."

"Like a little puppy."

"Ah God, that's disgusting! I changed him when he was in _nappies_!"

"You did not, _I _did. _You _wouldn't go near him until he was four."

"Well, I _told _Aunt Walburga you would be better suited to this rubbish than I would," said Bellatrix, waving her hand dismissively.

Andromeda's arm flopped down on the bed as she glared at her sister. Bellatrix, however, was not paying attention but was staring at the ceiling with a scowl on her face. Andromeda wanted to snap a picture of her in this moment, this moment when she was furious with her. Bella's neck was arched, her mass of black curls tumbling down her back as though in motion even though Bellatrix was, for once, still. Andromeda sat up.

"I'd be better suited to this _rubbish_," she repeated slowly. "Well, that clears that up. I think I'll go to bed now." She got up from the bed to leave.

"Oh, come on, Dromeda, you know that's not what I meant," said Bella, unknowingly destroying her picturesque moment with an unattractive roll of her eyes.

Andromeda turned to leave and then changed her mind, spinning back around. "Here's what you _meant_, Bellatrix," she said. "You meant that while I may be content to be a tea-drinking, politics-spouting busybody whom no one likes, _you're _going to go off and do those oh-so important things at the Ministry you keep going on about."

"I didn't-"

"Well, I've got news for you, Bella. Taking care of this family is important! And no, it's not an ideal situation, having six months to find a man who doesn't flee the country at the thought of marrying you, but at least you get to choose, which is more than-" She broke off before she could blurt out her new found secret. "More than a lot of girls get," she finally finished calmly. "More than Aunt Walburga got."

"It's hardly my choice if I'm _having _to make it," growled Bellatrix. "And stop acting martyred, that's not what I meant."

"Oh, then what did you mean?" demanded Andromeda. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her; she never lost her temper with anyone, especially not her sister.

"You- " Bellatrix gestured toward her uncomfortably. "You think like her, that's all! You think everyone ought to get married and have babies and all that."

"And you, of course, with your enlightened superiority, disagree," said Andromeda.

"Not everyone's cut out for being the stay-at-home type, Andromeda!" snapped Bella.

"Not everyone's cut out for turning the world upside down either," said Dromeda. "So stop acting like it makes you better just because you are."

There was a ringing silence as the two sisters glared at each other across the room. Bellatrix's dark eyebrows were drawn together at a sharp angle, her anger tinged, just slightly, with confusion. Andromeda wasn't even sure herself why she was angry with her sister. She's always known Bella was arrogant but she didn't usually let it bother her, and why it should do so this time, when her sister actually had a valid reason to be angry….

She started to leave the room. Bellatrix's next comment struck her like a whip. "I thought you were on my side."

Andromeda sighed and turned back around. Her sister was still sitting on the bed, her chin held high and proud, her eyes defiant. Andromeda longed again to snap a photograph – the unmoving kind Muggles took, so she could capture her sister forever in a rare moment of stillness. "I'm always on your side, Bella," Andromeda said.

Bellatrix smiled a little. "Do you really think I'm meant to turn the world upside down?"

Andromeda rolled her eyes even as she shifted uncomfortably. "Of course. You're the most charismatic person I know." She shrugged. "That's why I think you'd be so good at what Aunt Walburga wants you to do. I mean, the boys and Cissy already follow you." She paused. "_I _follow you."

_And I hope I always will_, she thought.

"Well." Bellatrix lowered her eyes and traced a shape on the bedspread. "Thanks."

Andromeda nodded. "I'm going to go to bed. But Bella – I meant what I said, about always being on your side. But it would be nice if you were on mine too."

Bellatrix grinned. "Course. When am I not?"

_If only you knew. _But Andromeda just gave her a small smile. "Can't think of any time. Good night."


End file.
